Four cases of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) were reported to The European Surveillance System in 2015. Three of these cases were confirmed. All cases were reported by Bulgaria.
Ticks themselves do not cause disease but if a tick is infected with a virus or bacterium, then that pathogen can be transmitted through the tick’s bite and cause disease in humans.
ECDC promotes the performance of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes, in which laboratories are sent simulated clinical specimens or bacterial isolates for testing by routine or reference laboratory methods. EQA schemes, or laboratory proficiency testing, provide information about the accuracy of different characterisation and typing methods as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and the sensitivity of the methods in place to detect a certain pathogen or novel resistance patterns.